Engineering of silicon surfaces at the micro- and nanoscales for cell adhesion and migration control

Abstract

Abstract:The engineering of surface patterns is a powerful tool for analyzing cellular communication factors involved in the processes of adhesion, migration, and expansion, which can have a notable impact on therapeutic applications including tissue engineering. In this regard, the main objective of this research was to fabricate patterned and textured surfaces at micron-and nanoscale levels, respectively, with very different chemical and topographic characteristics to control cell-substrate interactions. For this task, one-dimensional (1-D) and two-dimensional (2-D) patterns combining silicon and nanostructured porous silicon were engineered by ion beam irradiation and subsequent electrochemical etch. The experimental results show that under the influence of chemical and morphological stimuli, human mesenchymal stem cells polarize and move directionally toward or away from the particular stimulus. Furthermore, a computational model was developed aiming at understanding cell behavior by reproducing the surface distribution and migration of human mesenchymal stem cells observed experimentally.

Nanostructured Porous Silicon: The Winding Road from Photonics to Cell Scaffolds – A Review

“…Cells respond to topographic features (Torres-Costa et al, 2012 ) and surface chemistry of substrates (Low et al, 2006 ) in a wide variety of ways, with a clear dependency on many factors including cell type, feature size, and geometry, and the physicochemical properties of the substrate material. As PSi/nanoPS is easily fabricated and modified by different processes, a range of biomaterials can be designed through changes in its topography and surface chemistry.…”

Ultraviolet laser patterning of porous silicon

“…Furthermore, surface micro-and nano-patterning is becoming an important means for enhancing the performance of materials such as creating superhydrophobic surfaces with hierarchical meshporous structures, 14 reprogramming the cell shape, 15 or enlarging cell culture harvest. 16 For the particular case of nanoPS, patterns have been used to promote cell binding or growth [9][10][11]17,18 or to produce label-free biosensors, 3,19 the detection mechanism being based on changes either in the photoluminescence spectra or in the diffraction pattern.…”

“…While the first one consists of microstructuring the crystalline silicon (c-Si) substrate with the desired pattern followed by porosification, 17 the second and most widely applied method consists of creating the pattern directly on the nanoPS layer by using a diversity of tools such as dry soft lithography, 20 stamp pressing, 19 or laser writing. 10,21 However, none of these methods have the capability to offer flexibility in the pattern design in a timeefficient process, in large areas and in a single-step process.…”

Dynamics of fast pattern formation in porous silicon by laser interference

“…2,3 Patterned structures on nanoPS have recently been proposed for diffraction-based biosensors 4,5 or as platforms for drug delivery 6 or cell adhesion. 7,8 Additionally, surface microstructure can substantially enlarge cell alignment and culture. 7,9 Patterns have been fabricated in nanoPS through mask-based processes like ion beam irradiation, 8 anisotropic chemical wet etching followed by porosification, 10 dry soft lithography, 11 stamp pressing, 4 or laser writing.…”

“…7,8 Additionally, surface microstructure can substantially enlarge cell alignment and culture. 7,9 Patterns have been fabricated in nanoPS through mask-based processes like ion beam irradiation, 8 anisotropic chemical wet etching followed by porosification, 10 dry soft lithography, 11 stamp pressing, 4 or laser writing. 12,13 However, none of these methods has the capability to offer flexibility in the pattern design over large areas in a time-efficient and single-step process.…”